Big Ten Breakdown

Aided by Michigan's number two recruiting class in the nation, the Big Ten came in third in the scout.com conference rankings, and we also take at the first Charlie Weis recruiting class at Notre Dame.

Lloyd Carr and his Michigan staff once again signed one of the top recruiting classes in the country. This class is led by Michigan record-setting running back Kevin Grady Jr. Grady is already on campus in Ann Arbor and should compete for carries in the fall. Michigan landed five super defensive linemen in Marques Slocum (left, DT), James McKinney (DT) Terrance Taylor (DT), Chris McLaurin (DE) and Carson Butler (DE). Ohio’s Mario Manningham pledged Michigan as a junior and he has a chance to be a difference maker for the Wolverines. Michigan also signed the most electric athlete in the Midwest in Jackson, Michigan’s Antonio Bass.

Ohio State always has a one of the best recruiting classes in the country and ’05 is no exception. This Buckeye recruiting class is led by Alex Boone (right, OL). Alex is a U.S. Army All-American and one of the top tackles in the entire country. Jamario O’Neal was also a U.S. Army All-American and he could help the Bucks on either side of the football. Cleveland-Glenville linebacker Freddie Lenix is extremely underrated. Lenix is a tremendous athlete that could end up playing running back for Ohio State. Rob Schoenhoft is an “Elite 11” quarterback with an extremely strong arm. Akron’s Lawrence Wilson originally committed to Notre Dame but signed with Ohio State.

Iowa. Where do we start? How about with Hawkeyes raiding Illinois for the nation’s #1 TE prospect Tony Moeaki (left). Assistant coach Lester Erb also landed the signatures of All-American’s Dan Doering (OL), Dace Richardson (OL), Jake Christensen (QB) and Ryan Bain (DT), all from the Land of Lincoln. Kirk Ferentz went to the sunshine state to get super RB/FB Kalvin Bailey. Iowa also did a bang-up job in their own back yard by landing the signatures of top prospects Tyler Blum (OL/DL), Alex Kanellis (DT), Andy Kuempel (OL) and Pat Angerer (LB).

Joe Tiller and Purdue quietly put together a solid recruiting class. The Boilers were only supposed to sign about 10 prospects this year but that number ballooned to 22. Purdue signed a few gray-shirt prospects to LOI’s today including Christian Graham and David Ramirez. The Boilers also signed 2004 All-American Kyle Williams. Williams had originally signed with Iowa last year. Indiana wide receiver Selwyn Lymon is the cornerstone of this recruiting class and he’s backed up by U.S. Army All-American defensive end J.B. Paxson (right). Quarterback Joey Elliott has the potential to be a good one for the Boilermakers.

Any momentum Notre Dame had going on the recruiting front was tossed out the window when the Irish fired Tyrone Willingham. New England Patriots offensive coordinator Charlie Weiss was hired to right the ship. Weiss was able to get the signatures of Michigan wide receiver David Grimes as well as U.S. Army All-American receiver D.J. Hord (left). Both of these young men will benefit from Weiss and offensive coordinator David Cutcliffe’s pass happy offense. On defense, Notre Dame landed a couple of solid linebackers in Scott Smith (Illinois) and Kevin Washington (Texas). Minnesota Joey Hiben was one of the nations most sought after TE prospects.

Regardless of how the Penn State class turned out on signing day, it was already considered a success. Penn State landed two of the nation’s elite players in wide receiver Derrick Williams (right) and (CB) Justin King and on signing day (LB) Jerome Hayes chose Penn State. Though Penn State was stung by (OT) Jared Gaither signing with Maryland, (RB) Lydell Sargeant could end up be the gem of the class.

Wisconsin’s class is led by Scout.com’s #1 DE prospect Travis Beckum (left). The U.S. Army All-American had his pick of schools and chose the Badgers in December. The Badgers signed a solid group of linebackers led by Florida’s Elijah Hodge. O’Brien Schofield (Illinois) and Wisconsin’s own DeAndre Levy will play linebacker for Bucky as well. Wisconsin always does well in the state of Illinois and they did another great job this year. Schofield, Terrance Jamison (DE) and Dion Foster (RB) are all “Top 20” prospects from the Land of Lincoln. Two prospects to watch are Jae McFadden (TE) and Aubrey Pleasant (S). McFadden is an underrated prospect who comes from the talent rich Sunshine State and Pleasant became one of the most talked about prospects amongst college recruiters in December and January.

Michigan State and John L. Smith decided to strengthen his interior line by going after several top junior college prospects. Bobby Jones (DE), Jonal Saint-Dic (DE) and David Stanton (DT) will provide immediate depth on the defensive line for the Spartans. Michigan State signed a pair of tremendous running backs in Missouri’s A.J. Jimmerson and Ohio’s Javon Ringer. Ryan Allison, Diego Oquendo, Danny Fortener and Emory Jones are four wide receivers that outstanding speed. Remember the name Brandon Long (right). He’ll be one of the Big Ten’s best linebackers in a few years.

Ron Zook took over late in the recruiting game for Illinois but he still managed to sign a nice crop of recruits. The Fighting Illini are led by five-star Junior College defensive tackle Ismail Abdunafi and five-star U.S. Army All-American running back Rashard Mendenhall (left). Fork Union’s Derrick McPhearson could contribute early. Zook signed a solid corps of linebackers in Rahkeem Smith, Sam Porter and Brit Miller. Cornerback Guesly Dervil has outstanding speed and he could contribute early for the Fighting Illini as well.Quarterback Paul Blalock and defensive end Doug Pilcher are sleeper prospects that have a ton of upside.

I don’t want to put any undo pressure on Randy Walker but this Northwestern recruiting class has the potential to be one of the best in school history. The Wildcats need an athletic quarterback that can run their run and shoot offense and Walker signed three excellent signal callers in Oklahoma’s Andrew Brewer (right) and a pair of dual-threat quarterbacks from the Land of Lincoln in Mike Kafka and Eric Peterman. Tyrell Sutton (RB) is Ohio’s Mr. Football. Northwestern signed a super crop of offensive linemen led Kurt Mattes and Ramon Diaz. Remember the name Corey Wootton, he has All-Big Ten potential written all over him.

Minnesota once again went into Ohio and did a super job at signing some top prospects from the Buckeye State. Glen Mason was tickled to receive a LOI from Columbus, Ohio’s Alex Daniels (left, S). Daniels is a four-star safety that can make an immediate impact for the Gophers. Other Ohioans that signed with Minnesota include Dominic Jones (CB), Keith Massey (WR), Mike Chambers (WR) and Jason Sekinger (OL). Mason couldn’t keep the top three in-state prospects home but he was able to get the signatures of several top prospects from Minnesota including Ryan Ruckdashel (OL) and Nedward Tavale (OL). Illinois offensive tackle Otis Hudson is a one to watch.

Terry Hoepner is another coach who took over late in the recruiting game. Indiana ended up losing a couple of Gerry DiNardo’s verbal commitments but they did sign Ohio’s Bruce Hampton (CB) and Wisconsin’s Nick Polk (WR). Both of these young men have the ability to be contributors in 2005. Hoepner signed Fork Union’s Bryan Payton (right, RB), and he could provide instant offense for the Hoosiers. Indiana went into Florida and signed a trio of solid football players in Neal Jones (DE), Demetrius McCray (RB) and Jamie Kirlew (DE).